How Do You Start to Eat Healthy?

An Expert Says to Follow These 2 Simple Diet Tips If You Want to Get Healthy and Lose Weight

What you eat and exercise are two important factors when it comes to weight loss. While they aren't the only things that will affect how you lose weight — your brain, sleep, stress, and hormones are other variables — making changes in these two areas is a good place to start.

"What is certainly true is that the most important factor in a healthy diet is what you eat," Dr. Arad told POPSUGAR. "Meaning the quality of the food that you eat and how much," he continued. If you're ready to change what you eat, Dr. Arad said to start with these two steps: instead of eating processed, fatty foods, the first step he recommended is eating unprocessed, clean, sustainable food without added salt, sugar, fat, unhealthy preservatives, chemicals, "or other substances that the food industry is using to make food more palatable, more tasty, and last longer."

These steps are simple enough to start tomorrow. If you don't think you'll enjoy counting calories, you can use this simple portion control chart. If you're looking for more specifics in order to lose weight and improve your health, Dr. Arad advised meeting with a registered dietitian who has the knowledge and experience to guide you through the process and help you reach your goals.